Roof support



Nv.19,1929. Eamon 1,735,974

ROOF SUPRORT Filed Aug. 2e. 1927 s sheets-sheet 1 mnu Wnesses.' 17u/enla?? Nov. 19, 1929. E. @TOQLE 1,735,974

ROOF SUPPORT Filed Aug. 26, 1927 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Nov. 19, 1929. v E, QTQOLE 1,735,974

i RooF SUPPORT Y l Filed Aug. 2e, 1927 s sheets-sheet 3 Dn/Hep Orof,

MM @W Patented Nov. 19, 1929 UNITED sra'rns Parure? l FFME EDWARD oTooLE, oIAG-ABY, Wnsfr VIRGINIA ROOF SUPPORT Application vfiled August 26, 1927. 'Serial No. 215,591.

-porting apparatus of crib-like construction,A

1o whereby the tremendous strength necessary to support-'heavy mine roofs is had in a structure which maybe readily handled and advanced by power as the mining operation advances. c j

A further robject is. to provide a roof supporting apparatus having the novel construe@ tion, combination and design of parts herein- 'afterdescribed and illustrated in the accompanying drawings. y

In the drawings; l I

Figure 1 isa side elevation of a roof support constructedy in accordance with this invention. j y 1 v` Y YFigure '2 is a sectional Vplan showing the power advancing mechanism.

Figure 3V is"`a-ragmentary detail' elevation showing the operating shaft for the support. Y Figure 4 is a similar viewtakenon the line IV--IV of Figure 3. l

Figure 5 is a fragmentary detail plan showing the clutch operating means for the advancing mechanism. c Y Y Referring more particularly to the drawings the letter A designates the rear frame member of a mining machine, such 'as that shown in my prior Patent No. 1,583,992, dated May 11, 1926. It will be understood,lhowV ever, that the roof supporting apparatus of 40 this invention is not limited to use with this mining machine but may be used 'with any type of mining machine desired.

The roof supporting apparatus comprises a body composed of lower and upper parts B land C, respectively. The `lower part vB 'comprises a base portion composed of a bottom plate 2, side beams or timbersS, and a` 'pair of end channel beams 4 connecting Vsaid 'side beams ortimbers. The lower part B 1s further built up by timbers fextendlngtrans- :orflower part B to y'form 1a substantially rec'- xo I the upper part C is adapted to ridevon'th'e `versely to the sidetimbers '3, and by Vfiller tim# ybers `6 and capped by'upwardlyand forwardly'inclined side timbers 7, so as to have its' `upper or top face inclined forwardly and upfwardly to the horizontal. A metal'wear plate 55 8 is secured along each side of the top face of 'the lower part YB of the roof support to prevent wear and facilitate the operation ofthe upper part to be described.

The upper or top part C of thejrool sup- 160 y Y porting'apparatus is composedo-f side beams Aor timbers 10, a pair of rear 'end timbers '12, transversely extending top timbers '13,y and a filler block '14. The side beams or timbers v10 are inclined forwardlyjand upwardly on an l angle't'o the horizontal at the same ldegree asv the angle of incline of the top face of the bottom part B, so 'thatsaid top 'or upper part C will lit on and co-operate with the bottom tangula'r body when ment.

The several timbers,`beams, andillerbloc'ks of the parts B and C are secured ltogether by dowel pins 16, or bolts and the like. Y "V A pair of guide plates or boards 17 are se- 'cured tol the'out'side face of each of vthe side Y timbers 7 of the vlower part B of the roof supporting apparatus and project above the juplper face of the timbers 7 so as to guide and prevent sidewise movement-of 'the upper part C relative tothe part B.' f

TheY ,upper partv C of the supporting 'ap 1 vparatus `or crib is adapted to be 's'lidably moved transversely backward or forward or in thedirection of the inclined faces`v of the lower and upper parts B and .Cof the apparatus, relative to the'lower part During the above ymovement the inclined .lower face .the parts are in alinesimilarly inclined upper lface of the lower part B and, therefore,the upper ypartC'will lbe forced to move vertically either upward or downward, according :to whether the part is being moved forwardly or rearwardly'. W hen the part C is Vforced upwardly it will engage and support lthe mine roof and when it Ais allowed to movel downward-ly it will be released from the roof and the whole apparatus will be free to he advanced or moved to a new position.

In order to facilitate the movement of the part C relative to the part B 1 have provided a pair of chains or cables 18 which have one end secured to the opposite sides of the part C adjacent its lowest point and have their other ends, secured to a winch shaft 19 journaled in bearings 20 on the part'B. Y

The ends of the shaft 19 are squared as at 21 to receive ,a wrench for turning the shaft to take up the chains or cables'18 and cause located in front of the rofofasupporting rigv the part C to move forwardly and upwardly.

In order to lock the shaft 19 against rotation and thus lock the'part C in its adjusted position, the shaft 19 is provided with squared portions 22 adjacent `eachof the bearings 20, and wedg'es23 are provided and yare adapted to be driven home between the front timbers 5 of the part B and the Lksquared portions 22 Y of the shaft.V Vhen it is desired to release the shaft 19 in order to lower or further adjust the position of the upper part C, thev wedges are knockedy out of Ylocking position and theshaft is freed for movement in either directio'nf It will'be understood, vof course, that I do Vnot wish tofbe limited `to the use of the locking wedges 23, since various other' forms of locking mechanism may be usedto holdfthevshaft 19 against rotation.-

In .order to advance the mining machine I provide a feed Screw or shaft/25 which has Aa threaded engagement with a nut 26 journaled vin aV bearing 27 secured to the forward end channel beam 4. i

The forward end of the shaft is provided f with a head 28v and a squared shank portion Y 29. A collar 30 is fitted over the squared portion 29 of the shaft and is secured to the rear frame member A ofthe mining machine by a flexible cable 31, which is passed through Y suitable apertures in the flanges of the frame member A and through apertured ears 32 on the collar, and has itsends securedvtogether by a clamp 3 3. The head28 extends Ybeyond or forward 'of the collar 30 vand is adapted to be engaged against the web of the Vframe meinberA. The above described con-V nection between the collar 30 and the mining machine forms a flexible connection to facilitate the movement of the mining machine and lthe roof supporting crib over the uneven mine journaled in a bearing 42 and carries a sprocket 43 which is connected to a sprocket 43au on a shaft 44 by a silent chain 45. The shaft 44 is journaled at its rear end in a bearing 46 andhas its forward end journaled in and connected to a standardspeed reducing` unit 47. 1

A drive shaft 48 extendsfrom the speed reducing' unit 47 and has its forward end connected to a shaft 49 by a flexible coupling 50. The shaft 49 is journaled in bearings 51 and has a pinion 52 slidably keyed thereon and adapted to be meshed with and unmeshed from the drive gear 41secured to the nut 26. The shaft 38 is connected direct to the motor armature shaft E36-and is rotated at the same speed as the motor and therefore, is the high This high speed drive c speed drivey shaft. p shaft 38 and thepinion 40 are rotated counter clockwise so as to drive the nut 26 in a clockwise direction and thus move theroof supporting apparatus forward relative'mto` the d shaft 25 and the mining machine A.

The drive shaft 48 is a. low speed shaft and the shaft and its pinionf52. are rotated v,in a clockwisedirection so as `to rotate the nut 26 in a counter-clockwise direction and thus force the shaft 25 `forward relative to the nut 26 and roof supporting apparatus against the mining machine to feed it into the coal or other material being mined.l

The pinions 40 and 52 :are each provided with grooved neck portions 55 to receive the shifting collars'56 and the yokes'57. The yokes 57vare each provided with forwardly projecting levers 58 which project'forwardly through guides 59 on theforward channel 4V",

` and have their yforward endspivotally con nectedlto theopposite ends of ay rockinglever 60 which is pivotedintermediate its ends on aj bracket 61 secured to the beam 4Q The pinions40 and 52 are adapted tobe shifted into sufficient `strength to support the heaviest g of roof loads. Y

While I4 have shownV and described one and out of mesh vwith the drive'gear 41 by specific embodiment of myA invention it will sco-pe of my invention as defined inthe ap- `pended claims, for instance, the advancing mechanism maybe Vomitted entirely, or ay different form of advancing mechanism may be employed, in order to adapt the roof support to diderent uses.

Itwill also be understood that the crib or body ofthe device may be' built up from timberror metal ,beams andV that the words Vio and are to be construed in their broadest sense so as to include either metal or timber beams.

I claim- 1. A crib support for mine roofs comprising a two-part body, each of said parts being built up from a plurality of timbers arranged with their llongitudinal axes at right angles, one of said parts being arranged above and supported on the other part, said parts having their contacting faces inclined to the horizontal, a shaft journaled in bearings on one of said roof support parts, at least two chains secured to the other of said roof support parts and to said shaft, said shaft being adapted to be rotated to take up and let out said chains whereby the' roof supportpart to which said chains are secured will be moved transversely in the direction of said inclined faces and forced also vertically7 due to said inclined faces.

2. A crib support for mine roofs comprising a two-part body, each of said parts being builtl up from a plurality of timbers arranged with their longitudinal axes at right angles, one of said parts being arranged above andsupported on the other part, said parts having their contacting faces inclined to the horizontal, a shaft journaled in bearingsY on one of said roof support parts, at leasttwo chains secured to the other of said roof-support parts and to said shaft, said shaft being adapted to be rotated to take up and let out said chains whereby the roof support part V to which said chains are secured will be arranged above and supported on the other part, said parts having their contacting faces inclined to the horizontal, means for moving the upper part transversely in the direction of said inclined faces whereby said parts will be forced to work vertically, a screw shaftk mounted in the lower part of said rig, la nut on said shaft and Journaled in'said rig, and power means for rotating said nut in one d1- rection to feed said shaft forward againstl i the machine kto be advanced, and in therevset my hand.

EDWARD OTOOLE.

inclined faces and forced also vertically, due

to said inclined faces, and means independent' of the means for rotating said Vshaft, for releasably locking said shaft against rotation.

3. A combined roof support and advanc-V ing rig for use with mining machines comprising a two-part crib-like body, each of said parts being builtup from a plurality of timbers arranged with their longitudinal axes at right angles, one vof said parts being arranged above and supported on the other part, Vsaid parts having their contacting facesy inclined to the horizontal, means for moving the upper part transversely in the direction of said inclined faces wherebysaid parts will be forced to work vertically, a screw shaft mounted in the lower part of said rig, a nutV on said shaft and journaled in said rig, and

power means for rotating said nut to advance said shaft and force said shaft against the machine to be advanced. l

4. A combined roof supportand advancing rig for use with mining machines comprising a two-part crib-like body, Veach of said parts being builtup from a plurality ofl Y timbers arranged with their longitudinal.

aXes'at right angles, one of said parts being ico i 

